Romans 1

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Bondservant means a slave. A man without his own rights.

Titus

14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

The next verse basically says, so get on with it. Believing enables you to do it.

2 Timothy

6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Slap on those hands and give away the goodies preacher man!

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Work.

19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Walk away from sin.

20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.

Even Paul didn't have a 100% success rate in healing the sick.

1 Timothy

1-2Don't be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.

Family.

8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Prosperity.

Ezekiel 46-48

9-10 "'But when the people of the land come to worship God at the commanded feasts, those who enter through the north gate will exit from the south gate, and those who enter though the south gate will exit from the north gate. You don't exit the gate through which you enter, but through the opposite gate. The prince is to be there, mingling with them, going in and out with them.

We're leaving the Holy place a different way then we came in!


16-18 "'A Message from God, the Master: If the prince deeds a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it stays in the family. But if he deeds a gift from his inheritance to a servant, the servant keeps it only until the year of liberation (the Jubilee year). After that, it comes back to the prince. His inheritance is only for his sons. It stays in the family. The prince must not take the inheritance from any of the people, dispossessing them of their land. He can give his sons only what he himself owns. None of my people are to be run off their land.'"

Yay! Our inheritance cannot be robbed forever!!

ezekiel 40-45

4-5 The bright Glory of God poured into the Temple through the east gate. The Spirit put me on my feet and led me to the inside courtyard and—oh! the bright Glory of God filled the Temple!

Show me your Face God! Show me your Face!

5 God said to me, "Son of man, get a grip on yourself. Use your eyes, use your ears, pay careful attention to everything I tell you about the ordinances of this Temple of God, the way all the laws work, instructions regarding it and all the entrances and exits of the Sanctuary.

Then gird up my loins so I can stand in that holy place!

Ezekiel 37-39

5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!"

The gospel is a prophetic declaration that calls us into life. We cannot know God until we are made alive in Christ. Like Ezekiel we have the awesome privilege of making that declaration of life to people so they might hear and live. Speak to the dead souls that work with you and eat with you. Declare life over them through the cross of Jesus Christ!

Ezekiel 33-36

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36.26

There are verses in this chapter that slam Israel's failure, but over 20 times God says "I will" followed by a different promise of restoration. What's the point? You couldn't do it, so "I will". Peter wrote that:

[God's] promises...enable you to share his divine nature.
2 Peter 1.4.

So we become holy by believing in a promise. His work, not mine. His will not mine. His glory, not mine. Holiness does not begin with my behaviour. Holiness comes through changing my beliefs. Do I really believe I can access the nature of God?

Jesus did not just die to forgive my sins, He died to make me one with Him. He didn't just deal with the stone tablets that condemned me (the stone heart) he brought me into His nature, (His heart of flesh). This is why Paul wrote:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2.20

I died when He died, and I experience His nature the same way I experience His forgiveness: by faith in the promise of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 31-33

7-9 "You, son of man, are the watchman. I've made you a watchman for Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, warn them. If I say to the wicked, 'Wicked man, wicked woman, you're on the fast track to death!' and you don't speak up and warn the wicked to change their ways, the wicked will die unwarned in their sins and I'll hold you responsible for their bloodshed. But if you warn the wicked to change their ways and they don't do it, they'll die in their sins well-warned and at least you will have saved your own life.

Responsibility to cry out!

14-16 "'On the other hand, if I tell a wicked person, "You'll die for your wicked life," and he repents of his sin and starts living a righteous and just life—being generous to the down-and-out

Care for the poor is part of the saved lifestyle.

30-32 "As for you, son of man, you've become quite the talk of the town. Your people meet on street corners and in front of their houses and say, 'Let's go hear the latest news from God.' They show up, as people tend to do, and sit in your company. They listen to you speak, but don't do a thing you say. They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead. To them you're merely entertainment—a country singer of sad love songs, playing a guitar. They love to hear you talk, but nothing comes of it.

Is application in our minds when we hear the word of God? What are the action points from Sunday mornings?

Ezekiel 28-30

22-26 "Therefore, God, the Master, says, I am dead set against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will go ahead and break his other arm—both arms broken! There's no way he'll ever swing a sword again. I'll scatter Egyptians all over the world. I'll make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand, but I'll break the arms of Pharaoh and he'll groan like one who is mortally wounded. I'll make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of Pharaoh shall go limp. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He'll wield it against Egypt and I'll scatter Egyptians all over the world. Then they'll realize that I am God."

God is able to shatter the strength of those who oppose, and empower our enemies' enemy.

Ezekiel 25-27

1-5 God's Message came to me:
"Son of man, face Ammon and preach against the people: Listen to the Message of God, the Master. This is what God has to say: Because you cheered when my Sanctuary was desecrated and the land of Judah was devastated and the people of Israel were taken into exile, I'm giving you over to the people of the east. They'll move in and make themselves at home, eating the food right off your tables and drinking your milk. I'll turn your capital, Rabbah, into pasture for camels and all your villages into corrals for flocks. Then you'll realize that I am God.



The historian Oswald Spengler claimed the history of man was the history of nations and that the history of nations was the history of war. Life can be lived that way: Carve out your territory, defend it and hope others lose. Such a jealous, gloating territorial spirit will not end well.

Ezekiel 22-24

30-31 "I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one. So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God, the Master."

God is in charge, but He's not in control. He waits for us to wait on Him.

Ezekiel 19-21

7 "'At that time I told them, "Get rid of all the vile things that you've become addicted to. Don't make yourselves filthy with the Egyptian no-god idols. I alone am God, your God."

Addiction relates to the source of our comfort and joy, our peace and satisfaction; the recipe for freedom is to enjoy God. This is not the same as enjoying religion (which would be a challenge)!

32 "'What you're secretly thinking is never going to happen. You're thinking, "We're going to be like everybody else, just like the other nations. We're going to worship gods we can make and control."
33-35 "'As sure as I am the living God, says God, the Master, think again! With a mighty show of strength and a terrifying rush of anger, I will be King over you! I'll bring you back from the nations, collect you out of the countries to which you've been scattered, with a mighty show of strength and a terrifying rush of anger. I'll bring you to the desert of nations and haul you into court, where you'll be face-to-face with judgment.

Judgement is more severe for the people of God, both because He disciplines the son He loves, and because He cannot let His people misrepresent Him.

44 "'But, dear Israel, you'll also realize that I am God when I respond to you out of who I am, not by what I feel about the evil lives you've lived, the corrupt history you've compiled. Decree of God, the Master.'"

I love this: God judges out of His identity, His core values, not emotional reaction

13"'Testing comes.
Why have you despised discipline?
You can't get around it.
Decree of God, the Master.'

Good word.

Ezekiel 16-18

49-50 "'The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them.

Lack of love for the poor is deadly.

21-23 "But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he'll live, really live. He won't die. I won't keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?

Big mercy.

Ezekiel 13-15

9-11 "'If a prophet is deceived and tells these idolaters the lies they want to hear, I, God, get blamed for those lies. He won't get by with it. I'll grab him by the scruff of the neck and get him out of there. They'll be equally guilty, the prophet and the one who goes to the prophet, so that the house of Israel will never again wander off my paths and make themselves filthy in their rebellions, but will rather be my people, just as I am their God. Decree of God, the Master.'"

We are responsible for our appetite and our diet.

12-14 God's Message came to me: "Son of man, when a country sins against me by living faithlessly and I reach out and destroy its food supply by bringing on a famine, wiping out humans and animals alike, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job—the Big Three—were alive at the time, it wouldn't do the population any good. Their righteousness would only save their own lives." Decree of God, the Master.

If the nation is to prosper, the nation must be saved. If the nation does not prosper, the individual can still be saved, even as Goshen in the midst of Egypt.

Ezekiel 10-12

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

My God, his heart.

Ezekiel 4-6

14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah [f] —wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the LORD.' "

But God is good.

Ezekiel 1-3

26 Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. 27 From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. 28 All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.

What does the glory of God look like to me, and what is my response?